Police raid Pakistan’s ex-federal minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed’s house, fail to arrest him

Heavy contingents of police and elite commandos on Monday raided Lal Haveli – the residence and headquarters of Awami Muslim League (AML) chief and former Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, reported ARY News.

Reacting to the raid, Sheikh Rasheed said that he and his nephew were being targeted by the government and that they were not involved in any vandalism or violence. The police team kept asking house servants about the whereabouts of Sheikh Rasheed and Sheikh Rasheed Shafique as they were not present. Later, the police teams also raided Rasheed’s ancestral house in Sarafa Bazaar, reported ARY News.

Sheikh Rasheed is an ally of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and a close aide of Imran Khan. Earlier in January, Rasheed was arrested for alleging that the former President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari had hatched a conspiracy to assassinate former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Meanwhile, the Punjab police arrested the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fayaz-ul-Hassan Chohan outside a private hotel near Liaqat Bagh on Monday.

Chohan was taken into custody by the police on charges of inciting violence and creating chaos during the recent protests, reported The Nation.

Chohan was arrested when he was going to the press club from Liaquat Bagh’s main gate. He said despite being on interim bail, police are conducting the raid on his house and arrested his brother-in-law who is a heart patient, reported ARY News.

Police have launched a crackdown against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders and workers following the ‘violent protests’ held after the arrest of party chairman Imran Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust Case.

Violent clashes broke out across Pakistan after the former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan was arrested at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday.

The protests were held in remote and major cities as the party workers are agitated due to their chairman’s arrest, with Balochistan, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Islamabad summoning the armed forces to ensure law and order.

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